Police knew where to find bank robber

Petaluma police officials didn’t have to look long or look far to find the man suspected of robbing the Wells Fargo bank branch on North McDowell Street on Friday afternoon.

Stephen Robert Williams, 31, is a Petaluma resident well known to the city’s law enforcement.

“We knew him from the bank video photographs,” said Lt. Dan Fish, of the Petaluma Police Department, on Monday. “So, we followed him. We watched his house. When he came outside, he was actually wearing the same clothes that he was wearing when the robbery took place. We then made the arrest.”

Williams has had “a lot” of encounters with the city’s police force, Sgt. Ron Klein said who added that, “He was known by our officers.”

Witnesses to the robbery also identified Williams.

Fish said that the amount stolen from the bank remains unknown. “We think it was approximately $600,” he said. “We got a search warrant for his residence, however, and there was no money to be found. So, we can’t be sure exactly how much was stolen.”

Williams was arrested Saturday morning as he left his house on Coronado Drive. He was booked into the Sonoma County Jail, where he remains with bail set at $50,000.

The robbery occurred shortly after 2:30 p.m. Friday at the Wells Fargo branch at 800 N. McDowell Blvd.

The robber passed a note to a teller, received an undisclosed amount of cash and fled on foot.

(Contact Ted Sillanpaa at ted.sillanpaa@arguscouri er.com)